Burns report on Lords size: a rare opportunity to be seized

The committee proposes a move to 15 year appointments for
all new Lords members (rather than the current life appointments), that the
size of the chamber be capped at 600, and that the party groups work to targets
to reduce their numbers to meet that limit. To respect the cap of 600 future
appointments would also be limited, and linked to general election results.

Established by the Lord Speaker, Lord (Norman) Fowler, the
'Burns committee' report is the most significant intervention on Lords reform
in many years - since Nick Clegg's failed bill in 2012. Rather than pursuing
large-scale reform, it proposes an incremental change to deal with one urgent
problem - the House of Lords growing size. Recognising the obstacles that have
faced innumerable previous proposals for reform, it sets out changes that can
be achieved without the need for legislation.

Constitution Unit
Director Professor Meg Russell, one of the leading academic authorities on
the House of Lords commented:

"Historically, Lords reform has proved extremely
difficult. From Harold Wilson's plans in 1968 to Nick Clegg's in 2012,
governments proposing radical change have consistently failed. The reforms that
have succeeded (e.g. introduction of life peerages in 1958, removal of
hereditary peers in 1999) have always been those that focus on the single most
urgent next step on which there is widespread agreement, rather than achieving
wholesale reform.

"The Burns report is carefully designed to tackle one
of today's most urgent problems - the size of the House of Lords. There is
almost universal agreement that this needs attention. In the best tradition of
previous successful Lords reforms, this report is narrow in its scope, and
focused on what can be implemented straightaway.

"It's easy to snipe at proposals such as these for being
under ambitious, but the point is they are realistic. Those wanting more
radical change must acknowledge that this hasn't happened yet, and isn't likely
to happen any time soon. Those who are serious about the need to strengthen
parliament, and cut the cost of politics, should welcome these proposals."

But Professor Russell
did add one note of caution:

"These proposals require coordinated action across the
party groups so that members of the House of Lords to retire to meet the
targets. Importantly, peers seem ready to take this action. But the Prime
Minister also needs to act for these proposals to succeed - to commit to
limiting future appointments - if we are to achieve a smaller and more rational
House of Lords."

Professor Meg Russell is the author of two books
on the House of Lords (most recently The
Contemporary House of Lords: Westminster Bicameralism Revived, Oxford
University Press, 2013) and numerous papers and reports on the subject. She has
frequently given evidence to parliamentary committees, and acted as an external
adviser to the Lord Speaker's Committee.